Ascend Beyond
by Midnyght Saber
Summary: In his efforts to save the world, he has lost his life, a life he was so sure was forever his. Now, in the Ghost Zone, Danny struggles between his fear of going back and his need to be close to his family once more.


**Disclaimer:**_ Danny Phantom_ and all related characters and information are the property of Butch Hartman and Viacom International, Inc. "Hollow Man" is the property of Iced Earth and Steamhammer, a division of SPV GmgH.

* * *

For the longest time, I thought that I was untouchable. I figured that what I was made me something greater than the weakness of humanity. I thought being half-ghost would protect me from the eventual death that comes for all who are fully within the world of the living.

Now, I don't know what to think. I know where I am, lost though I am in the Ghost Zone, and fully dead. I once thought that becoming full-ghost, if at all possible, would render me emotionless or a slave to whatever obsession would take over me. Never once in all the time that I thought about it did it cross my mind that I would be nothing less than Danny Phantom without the ability to become human ever again.

**Emptiness consuming me**

**Head in hands**

**I can hardly speak**

I cannot say that I had not lived my life to the best of my ability, but I was still only thirty-seven. One stupid move, one moment too long using the Wail to save those around me, and I lost the ability to go ghost at just shy of a mile above the ground. True, I was finally able to bring an end to Pariah Dark, but the cost has been too much. I have left Sam a widow, and left Lucas and Mahalia without a father.

I would try and cross back into the human world, try to get back to my family and be there for them. I'm no longer the person that used to be in their life, and I don't even want to think about how Mahalia is going to take this. She barely knows me as Danny Phantom, as I preferred staying human around the family, but at four, I'm even more afraid of the fact that she may not remember me at all a few years from now. All she'll really have is pictures of us together, and maybe the ghost powers I passed down to Lucas…though I wasn't aware of that fact until about a year ago.

**Looking for solitude**

**Lost in humanity**

As much as I'd like to think that I can go back and be with them, how can I? I'm a full ghost. I'm dead. They're quite likely setting up all the arrangements for my funeral, though I would guess Sam is spending more time, curled up on our bed, wondering why it is that I'm not coming back. After all, it's quite likely that she's figured I wasn't going to be passing on.

Well, passing on to whatever might be after the Ghost Zone.

It's a weird sensation, knowing that four years of your life were spent creating a detailed map of the Ghost Zone, and years more utilizing it, only to find yourself completely lost by where you find yourself.

I don't know what's worse – knowing that I'm lost in a place I once knew and would now have to call home, or being able to remember the life you had before your untimely death.

**True knowledge**

**Leads to suffering**

I don't know how much time I wasted wallowing in my sorrow, nor how much longer was spent searching the Zone for someplace I knew, but when I finally happened upon the Far Frozen, I was at least able to breathe a sigh of relief. At least from this point, I knew how to get to either of the family Portals, be it at Mom and Dad's or at home…or what had once been my home.

**A constant quest**

**An endless dream**

I should have expected the somber welcome I got from the Far Frozen, as they revered me as the savior of the Zone, now fallen from life as I was. They were relieved by the idea that the memories of my life had come with me safely into my undeath, as those memories kept me from falling to darker paths. With them, I found the first bit of joy in this new phase of existence, though I could not chase away the lingering regrets for my family or the yearning desire to return to their world. As much as I tried to convince myself that the Zone was where I now belonged, something deep inside me would not let the fires die.

I had to see my family again, even if I would do so only to be turned away, even if the closest I could get was looking into the windows from the edge of the ghost shield…even if it meant it might be the last time I would ever see them. After all, I wasn't the me I'd been for twenty-three years, and I don't have an inkling to how any of them will take my return after the way I left them.

**Searching for inner peace**

**Hidden so deep in me**

After who knows how long, I was finally able to leave the Far Frozen, though still not courageous enough to actually return to the other realm. Rather, I chose to make my next stop the tower of my guardian. Though Clockwork letting me see how my family was coping was as likely as Walker leaving me alone, I still had to hazard a visit to see how things were going. Perhaps there would be good news on this journey.

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**

Turns out that I was right on both counts – Clockwork would have none of my pleading to see just a glimpse of my family, but relief followed on comforting wings when he let me know that my death had not only released me from the bonds of mortality, but that I, while alive, still had a soul wholly separate from my ghost half. That bit of my human self joined with my ghost half upon my demise, and in bonding both the traits of human and ghost together, I had finally broken free of the shadow that had hovered over me for nearly as long as I'd had my powers. Dan Phantom was no more.

From there, I journeyed through the Zone, slowly rebuilding confidence in my powers, finding that, now that the risk of reversion was no longer a factor, I could utilize greater power when hunting…not that I did any within the boundaries of the Zone, of course. The drawback now, however, was that I had to make sure that I didn't expend too much energy, or I would run out of power, much like Nocturne had once we'd shut down his Dream Machine. It was times like this that I wish I knew what it was that I drew my power from. At least as a half-ghost, I still had my human self, and the ever-present desire to be a hero, to be able to make a difference. Now, I don't know what to make of myself.

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**

For the longest time, I wandered aimlessly, not wanting to return to where I knew I had friends, nor trying to stay near the one ghost who would deny me even the simplest of comforts. While I had to deal with the attacks of the ghosts who had hunted me so often in life, it was as if I was outside of myself. The fights were over before they'd truly begun, and I left destruction and confusion in my wake. I was no longer who I had once been – I was something different, and without the purpose I had known, I feared for unknown days that I would fall, eventually, to the mindless torrent of the nothingness I was so sure was consuming me. Dan Phantom may have been gone, but there was something lurking within, something that I was afraid to embrace, yet all to ready to as the mental assault I pitted against myself grew stronger still as time went on.

**Sadness comes knocking constantly**

**Filling up my eyes**

**For all to see**

Returning to the Far Frozen, I spent a great deal of time with them, learning how to control the flow of my power, and how to realize when I was getting close to my limit. It was with them, under Frostbite's fatherly guidance, that I learned that it was happiness that fed my power, the elation that I found in everyday life. Though I had been deluded for years about the source of my strength, it did not matter now that I had been so thoroughly confused – I knew the truth now.

**Peace will come some day**

**I pray that it finds a way**

Letting myself fall into the felicity of my memories, I found the feeling it gave intoxicating. Rather than the mindless rage of the ghosts who I had fought for so long, though, it gave me an almost debilitating sense of inner peace, something I'd never had in life.

And in that solace, I began to find the courage I had misplaced at my death.

**Darkness caressing**

**My mind and soul**

I had learned that, at the death of a powerful soul, the Ghost Zone expand further outward, creating a new realm for the spirit to make their own. Frostbite taught me how to manipulate the energy of the Zone, how to mold it and make it my own, and in realizing how much of the Zone was now mine, I turned my mind from the life that I had once had, and to the empire that I could build before me. But the empire I sought was never to be mine alone.

**My spirit's rejecting**

**I'm feeling whole**

I knew that my children would bear the same taint as I, and that they, too, in death, would come to dwell amongst the residents of Zone. I knew that all of my line would become half-ghost, and I would have something worth the Phantom lineage awaiting them when that time came.

The challenges began, the fighting for the right to claim my piece of the Zone, but as the thoughts flowed, the images of their smiling faces coming to me, I refused to let anything fall. Little by little, I pushed away my opposition, and soon, they began to fear my wrath.

They had little reason to. Those who didn't attack, those I called my friends, were welcomed with open arms, and they helped me to build the city that would greet the fallen heirs to my unique lineage.

In time, I came to realize that all that would be built would have to wait, that the remainder of the empty lands within my particular bit of Zone would be touched upon by those who would follow. And with that realization, it hit me that I had no idea how long it had been since I had last seen my family, no idea how much time had passed between my death and where I was now. And it hit me then…

**Emptiness goes away**

**Fills with the light of day**

I needed to cross back over.

I needed to return to my family, damn the consequences.

I knew my way by heart now, to the land of the Far Frozen, and from there, could easily find my way to the Fenton Portal in my parents' house. I could only hope that they weren't home. The last thing I wanted was to surprise them by sticking my head though the Portal…if they were still alive, that was.

Slinking quietly through the Portal, darkness met my eyes, and I was somewhat surprised to find the lab empty and silent, and I hoped that they were only sleeping. Passing out of visibility, I let my feet leave the ground, floating silently upwards towards the kitchen, hoping that, if any substantial amount of time had passed, my mother still had the calendar hanging on the wall by the living room.

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**

She did, indeed, and I was surprised to see that it had only been two months since my demise. It had seemed like far longer within the Zone.

Phazing out of the house, I hovered higher into the night sky, letting my eyes drift lazily over the town I had, for so long, called home, and I was surprised to see a gathering of cars near the cemetery on the edge of town. I would have figured that my funeral had passed, and was silently hoping that it wasn't another person's so shortly after my own. The guilt started to come up over me at the thought that I hadn't been here to protect anyone, but as I lowered myself to the ground, still beyond human sight, I saw the first of the signs leading up to the graveyard where so many were assembled, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

By whatever trick of fate and timing, I had managed to finally dare to leave the Ghost Zone on the day that Amity Park's government had decreed a city holiday – my birthday, now a yearly memorial day for the protector of the world. I could only guess that the rest of the world had followed suit to some degree; after all, I had been the one in charge of the mission that helped avert the Disasteroid crisis.

Staying near the edges of the gathering, there are many present, and a growing pile of flowers and candles around a tomb that I could only imagine Sam having gone out of her way to pay for. A shimmering silver steel gate bars entrance to the interior, likely for the safety of the body that lies in state, and Sam and the kids are there, silently surrounded by Tucker and his family, hers and mine. Each person leaves a token of their visit before turning to my wife…my widow, giving her words of consolation and support, a fleeting touch against her hands to give her the strength I know my passing has taken from her, before turning and leaving.

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**

For most of the day, I stay there, silently watching the number of people slowly dwindle down to nothing. Then, one by one, the families left, Lucas and Mahalia leaving with my parents and Jazz. As the sun had started to drop behind the horizon, Sam stood there, alone, the black clothing she wore looking all sorts of wrong on her, despite it being the color of her entire wardrobe.

Moving slowly towards her, I'm cautious to not alert her to my presence, wanting my residual chill to find her first. As much as I would have loved to say something to her to get her to acknowledge that I'm here, I can't find the proper words anymore.

Her shiver came slowly, but it was present enough that I noticed it, and her amethyst eyes, once so full of light, turn in my general direction, and there is a fleeting moment of darkness in her eyes that vanishes under what I know is hope. "Danny?" she calls, and I hear the desperation in her voice.

**I rise up**

**Like the phoenix**

**From the ashes**

**Of an older way**

It isn't until my arms are wrapped around her frail body that I come into sight, and she falls weakly against me, wailing into my shoulder. I should have been back so much sooner, I realize, hearing her swearing at me, her frustration for my delayed absence coming out in bursts between her tears.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, running my hands along her back. "I'm sorry, Sam, I really am. I've…I've just been so scared to try and come back."

"Why? You knew we'd be waiting," she sobbed. "You knew the kids and I need you."

"I was afraid to come back like this," and even as I say it, the words sound weak. It's been too long since I've had to tell myself that lie.

"You're no different, Danny," she says, finally starting to get her breathing under control. "You've always been part ghost, and just because you're fully one now doesn't mean you have to run. We're still your family."

**With wisdom gained**

**I turn away**

"I know that now, Sam," I say, curling my face into the crook of her neck, taking in the delicious scent of the woman who, I just realized, wasn't exactly a widow. After all, the wedding license we had listed both my names. "I'm ready to come back."

"But…why did you take so long?"

"Honestly, I thought that I had belonged in the Zone. I thought I didn't deserve to come back." I held her tighter still. "Sam, it's not the same for me anymore, and while I have gained more than my fair share of power, I'm not exactly like I used to be. Heck, we even have to update our map. There's a whole new section there for me."

Sam smiled, the first glimmer of happiness I had seen on her since my return. "Well, that just means that we have work to do while the kids are at school…or with your folks on weekends, if need be."

Holding her close, I linger for just a moment longer with her before I turn towards the tomb that stands against the darkening sky, my names engraved in the marble lining either side of the gated doorway. Pulling gently from her grasp, I walk over to the monument.

**I turn away**

"We ended up having to seal the casket in a block of cement, just to keep people from trying to break in and get a piece of the Phantom they'd all come to admire and respect."

"Really?"

"No, not really," Sam said with a soft laugh. "It was just advised, considering how well known you are here, and how hated in the Zone."

Running my hands along the metal doorway, I see the faintest hint of green pulse under my touch. "It's shielded?"

"Like I said, we were advised to take certain precautions."

I caught a hint of sadness in her voice. "What's wrong?"

**Hollow man**

**Find yourself**

**Some other prey**

"It's nothing, Danny," she said, taking my hand in hers. "I've just missed your eyes…the way you'd look at me at night when we'd be going to sleep, the way they'd light up under your eyes when you'd be dreaming, or when you'd get mad. It's been hard going to bed alone all these nights."

"It's going to be harder now. How am I supposed to stay in the house when I'm…well…"

"We'll figure something out. We always have."

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**

**Don't want to be a hollow man**

**Ain't gonna be the hollow man**


End file.
